The Weird Guards
by EvilLydia
Summary: Shikamaru's team has been assigned to protect Hogwarts. Unfortunately for them, this mission isn't going to be as straight-forwards as they thought.


This is a slightly different world. A world where the main character worked really hard and some of them became AMBU. Since they are AMBU, they are much more serious people. Some of this might just be my idealized version of the show, it's been a while since I've seen it.

_Japanese_

English

Chapter 1 - Job Offers

Shikamaru walked in silence to the Hokage Tower, mentally preparing himself for the mission he was about to receive. Because the fourth Ninja War had just recently ended, the village kept the most skilled ninja close until things calmed down. Unless, of course, it was a particularly well paying mission. In other words, it was either going to be a really hard job or the client was going to be a real pain or both. He was not told who was going to be on this mission with him but chances of it being his team were slim. With everything that has happened, everyone was being split up.

Turning the final corner, he had to go out of his way to keep from stepping on debris that was left from the building that was destroyed. Where ever you looked you could see the consequences of the war, whether it's the buildings that are no longer livable or the broken faces of the people who had lost something... or someone.

As he was entering the Hokage Tower, the guards eyed him carefully. He was allowed to enter, or course. Everyone was being so careful lately it was almost enough to put one on edge. He couldn't help but remember how relaxed everything was when he first became a gunin, or at least that's how he perceived it. It seemed like he didn't really have all that many responsibilities. All he had to do was complete the mission assigned to him and everything else just fell into place. Even though he was next in line to be the head of his family, his father was really relaxed about everything.

There were nine other people standing in front of the Hokage's desk. The room was a bit crowded. "_Finally, you're here_." said a slightly irritated Tsunade. Standing at attention, Shikamaru glanced to his left. He was a little surprised when he saw Temari there. She didn't look at him. They were engaged so they told each other when they had long missions but they couldn't reveal any details. It was just really weird that they were on the same long mission.

Aside from her Sakura, Shino, Tenten, Ino, Sai, Naruto, Rock Lee, and Hanabi. Even though he knew who everyone was, he didn't really know how to talk to every one of the team. Being the leader of a team was more than just fighting and planning. I was also being able to delegate properly. This meant understanding the personalities of those that he was working with. He had never worked with Hanabi but he had heard that she was the polar opposite of her sister. He also hadn't had than many interactions with Tenten, for that matter.

"_I've called you all here for a very important mission. As unorthodox as it may seem, I need to you to be on a mission for 10 months_," said Tsunade, eyeing each one in turn. She leaned forward and pushed a scroll toward them. Shikamaru stepped forward to receive it. "_The mission details are in there. Shikamaru will be the leader of this mission._" No one was surprised.

Being the leader of a mission was difficult, all the responsibility falls on his shoulders. This will be especially true for a 10-month mission. This will give the team plenty of chances to screw up.

"_The mission is guarding a student while he is at the school. But there's a catch_." she continued. "_None of the students can know your true purpose there. Only the headmaster and headmistress as well as a few of the trusted teachers and staff are allowed to know. As far as the rest of the school is concerned, you are the new guards at the school. They are also hiring some other security, the Dementors_".

Shikamaru couldn't help sucking in a deep breath. He had never seen a Dementor before but he knew enough about them. They were dangerous, not because of their ability but because they couldn't distinguish their target and everyone else.

"_That sounds like a really bad idea, Dementors can suck out the soul. Why put them in a school_?" asked Sakura. Lady Tsunade didn't say anything. Obviously even she knew that it was a bad idea.

"_This isn't our place to object. I trust that everyone here can speak English. If not, you're going to learn. You leave in 2 months. Dismissed._"

That night, Shikamaru stayed at the Hokage Tower to read more about this mission. He learned many things, some he thought that was just ridiculous.

This place was another world away, literally. Apparently, there was a way to travel between these worlds but it wasn't common knowledge to anyone. According to details described in the scroll, the only person that should be aware of anything real about them is the Headmaster, the client. More concerning, a criminal broke out of their prison and was trying to kill a particular student. He decided that the next morning he was going to go the Tsunade and ask if they could go early to scope things out and learn more of the customs.

When he entered her office the next morning he found her fast asleep at her desk surrounded by her paperwork. As tired as he was, he envied didn't envy her at all, it didn't look like she was rested very well either.

"_Tsunade-sama,_" She stirred as he greeted her, "_I have a request_."

He waited patiently as she lifted her head and looked at him fully. "_What do you want?_" she asked. As she yawned and started fixing herself a drink he started on his request. "_I don't think that we have enough information on the place that we are going to visit. I want bring the group there early so that we could learn more about the culture_."

A smile played on her lips, _"No, you can't do that. Stealth is needed and your group isn't exactly known for that."_

He nodded, accepting that answer. _"If only a couple of us went then-"_

_"Who were you thinking of_?" she interrupted.

His first thought was his own team member but he also thought of Hanabi. He hadn't worked with her much and it would be interesting to get to know her better. "_Hanabi and Sai. Sai should be decent at stealth missions and Hanabi had the Byukugan."_

Tsunade closed her eyes thoughtfully. "_That is an interesting choice._"

_"They are both very powerful and have abilities that are very good for stealth._" He explained his reasoning.

She smirked at him,_ "I see, that's your reason?"_

He smiled back, _"Yes, ma'am."_

She waved him away. "_You have until next week to prepare. You will be permitted to be there for two days before meeting the Albus Dumbledore, the client. You may spend no more than four days with him and then another two days to return with what you have. I'll will be sending a message tonight."_

As he walked out of the building, he thought about how he was going to go about it. He decided that the best course of action was too head to the Hyuga compound to speaking with Hanabi. The thought of talking with Sai first crossed his mind but he decided that he would be difficult too find. Besides, that guy was annoying to talk to.

That wasn't something that he should say. Was it really appropriate to say something like that, even if it was just in his head? The idea of censoring his thoughts was distasteful, to say the least. He supposed it didn't matter because as long as his thoughts just stayed thoughts and they stayed to himself there wasn't a problem.

Getting out of his own head, he approached the gates to the Hyuga compound. There were two family members guarding the door. _"Good evening,_" he waved at them. he got a nod in return. "_I would like to speak with miss Hanabi."_

_"Is this a social visit?_" the taller of the two asked.

He understood why they had to ask things like this. "_No, it is not,"_ he said simply.

Since he wasn't permitted in the compound and the Hyuga family member wasn't talking to him he decided to mill around. He was sure that she would take a while. Hanabi had been trying to take over the family. While that wasn't really his first priory he understood the stress that came along with that. His thoughts turned to how he could make this conversation a little more relaxed without making her pull away.

It wasn't long before she approached the gates, "_Hello Shikamaru, are you here to speak about the upcoming mission?_" She got right to the point.

He nodded, "_Yeah, wanna get some lunch?_"

She looked skeptical for a moment and glanced from him back to her house, _"I suppose for a moment,_"

They walked through the town quietly, side by side. Just before they reached the noodle shop she turned to him and said, "_What is this all about?_"

_"Right,_" he answered as he moved the curtain aside for her, "_Lady Tsunade has given my permission to take a small team to London next week to do a little preparation as well as meeting the client. I wanted you to come._"

She laced her fingers together, "_Why me?"_

He nodded, "_Two reasons,"_ he decided to tell her the truth,_ "The first is you have a very unique skill set,"_

_"My eyes?"_ she asked. He nodded again. _"What else_?"

_"I don't actually remember use working together_." he said.

_"What?_" She seemed genuinely confused by his response.

_"If we're working together I'd like to get to know you. I figure this would be the best way."_ he explained.

When they both placed their orders she leaned back and said, _"That's an... odd reason. Is it only me and you?"_

_"No,_" he shook his head, _"We'll bring Sai as well."_

_"Hm_," she leaned forward and looked thoughtful,_ "I don't really know that much about him. I've heard bad things though, like he's hard to work with. Is that true?"_

_"I don't know_," he said, "_I've only spoken with him a couple of times but we didn't really get it. If it turns out that we're not compatible I'm sure we can figure out how to remedy the situation_."

"_Ok,_" she nodded, "_that sounds reasonable. When would you like to leave?"_

"_Tuesday,_" he said as he broke apart his chopstick, _"we'll meeting in the Hokage tower at daybreak."_

xxxxxxxx

The meeting with Hanabi went exceedingly smoothly. He wasn't sure why but he was expecting some sort of protest of her. He thought that he might actually get along with her.

But when it came time to find Sai, he ran into a wall. He had no clue where to find him. He had to ask around all afternoon before finding someone that actually knew something. It was a bit vague but apparently he like hanging out by the koi pond near the southern edge of the village.

He gave a sigh of relief when he saw a figure standing by the edge of the water. If this wasn't him he was going to be extremely irritated. _"Yo Sai,"_ he approached waving a hand at her.

Sai turned to him, slightly surprised. His neutral expression turned to an empty smile. _"It's good to see you, captain,"_

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow so Sai elaborated, _"Are you not captain of the mission?"_

"_Right,_" Shikamaru said slowly. Something about the way he spoke irritated him. 'Cool it Shikamaru,' he said to himself, 'you have to work together for a year. we need to get along.' "_You don't need to call me that. But it is the reason I found you._" He placed his hands in his pockets and slouched casually. _"I'm gathering a small team for reconnaissance and I think your skill set would be valuable."_

"_How big of a team?"_ Sai dropped his smile.

_You, me and Hanabi Hyuuga." _Shikamaru answered.

Sai considered this for a moment. _"Her Byukyagun would certainly be useful. I would think that Ino or Shino would also be a useful_ _addition._"

Shikamaru nodded, _"That's true, however I need a small, discrete team. And Besides that, you were the people_ _available."_ He decided against telling him the true reason for choosing the people he did. This way he may get the true Sai.

_"That's reasonable. What do you need from me?"_ his empty smiled was back.

_"Can you speak English?"_ It didn't really matter. Shikamaru thought that it might be better if he couldn't. Sai had a reputation of saying impolite things and that was not the best first impression he wanted to make with the client.

"Yes, of course I can," he said perfectly clearly.

_"Good,"_ Shikamaru commented, "_At sunrise on Tuesday we will meet in the Hokage Tower. From there we'll head to London to investigate further. Until then," _he pulled out his notes on the more important pieces of information,_ "Review this."_

As he walked away he thought about the different conversation he had with Hanabi. He hadn't asked her if she spoke English because he assumed she did. It would only make sense that Sai did as well. But he didn't know the training regiment of an AMBU. The head of each major family must learn things like this and anyone with eyes knew that Hanabi was next in line. He liked Hinata just fine but her personality simply wasn't right for the responsibilities needed.

xxxxx

Meanwhile, Naruto was surrounded by scrolls. He knew about the other worlds but since it was very rare to travel to them he didn't pay any attention to them. English was also a subject taught in school but he didn't think that he needed that before either.

In the several hours he was studying all he got out of it was a headache. He laid back on the floor with a thud. He was positive that he wasn't going to learn this in two months.

The knock on his door was a welcome distraction. He jumped up to answer. Sakura stood on the other side with a kind smile. As he saw her he raced across the room to clean up the nastier old food dishes. She rolled her eyes, "_I'm not here to hang out. Those of us that are going on this mission set up a study group to learn about what we are going to face and to make sure everyone can talk."_ She glanced at the scrolls on the floor, "_So no one embarrasses themselves."_

_"Really?"_ Naruto clasped both of her hands between his own, _"That's so great! We can study together." _He smiled widely at her.

She removed her hands from his, _"I already know how to speak English just fine. I'm teaching." _

Naruto smiled, "_This is going to be fun,_"


End file.
